On tap at Shepherd & Knucklehead, unspecific 25th anniversary doppelbock version of celebrated Brooklyn Lager seemed strangely divergent and stylistically murky. Dry wood lacquering and pungent dry-hopped char affect sedately tart apple-skinned fig mold. Dessicated orange souring, tea-like earthen nature and peated Scotch blotch keep deranged pale lager off-putting. In 22-ounce bottle, sugar-glassed glutinous wheat sweetness and dewy peated malts offered a Scotch Ale-like persistence. Buttered rum and vodka untertones added alcohol burn. 

Thick and creamy German-style winter lager brings chewy caramel-chocolate malting, brown-sugared molasses sinew and sweet Scotch warmth to soil-y wood-burnt bottom. Subsidiary raisin-pureed fig spicing and dark cherry tartness add depth. Milk Duds-like toffee finish reinforces initial mocha theme. A wintry doppelbock hybrid any chocolate lover will indulge.

Nifty orange-hazed Bavarian-styled weizenbock creates Bananas Foster theme with its creamy rum-spiced banana-clove entry. Ancillary lemony pineapple-mango briskness receives mustard-seeded ethanol burn. Banana cream pie, banana bread and banana pudding illusions glide by.

Elegant soft-tongued dark German lager retains smooth dried fruit appeal. Brown-sugared caramel malting spreads across candied orange, soured prune, sugared fig, pureed raisin, black cherry and cola nuttiness. Aromatic red-wined bourbon-burgundy illusions vie for attention and chocolate-chalked Devils Food Cake backdrop provides further resilience.

Famed German smoked beer makers come through again with unexpectedly moderate-bodied double bock styling. Crisply clean oak-smoked peat malting leads the way for dry Band-aid-wafted amber-darkened rauchbier. Smoked salami, bacon fat, burnt hickory, and nutmeat speckle recessive lemon-oiled orange-fig tartness. An acquired taste worth discovering.

Cascading prune-hued bubbles rise to frothy flesh-toned head of soft-tongued alcohol-whirred burgundy-like doppelbock. Chewy raisin-plum overtones, ripe purple grape illusions and viscous anise ascension penetrate dirty earthen graining. Red-wined Reisling-dried Merlot warmth reaches fruition at grape-jellied finish.

Strong cognac-inspired ‘unfiltered wheat beer’ (with loads of viscous yeast resin) boasts bruised orange, fig juice, and prune-dried banana-clove resonation. Closer to a midrange barleywine or a less potent sherry.

Chewy molasses-soaked raisin-pureed stewed prune opening enriches dark-spiced brown-sugared chocolate malt sweetness of robust doppelbock. Honeyed nut, almond, pecan, and hazelnut illusions gather along tertiary port-whiskey slip.

Simply too light and arid for prestigious doppelbock class. Smoked chocolate malting and dried cocoa dusting, reminiscent of black ale styling, fades into wispy raisin-plum-fig spell to earthen dry-hopped barley-toasted bottom.